Average Global Surface Air Temperatures Reach Record Highs
In FY2023, the effects of the three-year-long COVID-19 pandemic finally settled down, the flow of people around the world returned, and economies have begun to move toward normality. On the other hand, parts manufacturers accumulated large inventories in preparation for the tight supply and demand caused by the logistical disruption due to COVID-19, and it took time to consume those inventories, making it a tough year for the engineering plastics market. Looking at the global environment, the average global surface air temperature in 2023 was 1.4°C higher than before the Industrial Revolution, a record high (according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO)). In response to steadily advancing climate change, various countries have announced a flurry of strengthened environmental policies and regulations. In addition to our efforts to reduce total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 50% by 2030 (compared to 2018: Daicel Group), we will promote the creation of comprehensive environmental solutions with a greater sense of urgency than ever before.
Establishing a Recycling-oriented Scheme for All Engineering Plastics
To create comprehensive environmental solutions, we first began shifting to the use of renewable raw materials. In FY2021, we began production of POM derived from biomass raw material (bG-POM), and in FY2023, we proceeded toward obtaining sustainability certification for our entire Group in order to strengthen our sales infrastructure for this product. By switching the raw materials of engineering plastics to renewable ones while utilizing the mass balance method, we will strengthen our sales to the electronics parts and medical fields, where the need for environmentally-friendly materials is increasing rapidly. Next, we started our Re-compounding business and entered the recycling business. We plan to promote the development of PCR materials to meet the European End-of-Life Vehicles (ELV) Directive (to use 25% recycled materials in FY2030), utilizing the expertise we have accumulated in this area. In the future, the Daicel Group will make our raw materials biomass-derived and establish a recycling-oriented scheme for all engineering plastics, by combining mechanical recycling, chemical recycling, energy recovery, and conversion of carbon into raw materials.
To Continue Being the Most Trusted Leading Engineering Plastics Company
To remain a leading engineering plastics company in the future, we must strengthen the foundations of sustainable management in terms of safety, quality, and compliance, and at the same time be a company that contributes to achievement of a carbon-neutral and recycling-oriented society. We face a mountain of challenges in quality, cost, procurement, and new technical development, but we will overcome them step by step with innovative and sustainable solutions through co-creation: the power of business collaboration with other companies in the industry and supply chain integration (cross value chain) beyond the Daicel Group’s corporate framework. Our Corporate Philosophy is “We contribute to building an abundant future society by innovation and developing talented and responsible people, through pursuing the unlimited potential of engineering plastics.” We promise to put this Corporate Philosophy into practice in partnership with all of our stakeholders. Engineering plastics are essential materials for the development of next-generation technologies that will support a sustainable future society, such as high-speed, high-capacity communication networks, CASE, and advanced robotics fields. That is why we will overcome the daunting challenges the future demands of us, and continue to evolve as a leading engineering plastics company.
Takashi Miyamoto
Representative Director and President
